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On February 18, 1952, a massive nor'easter strikes New England, wreaking havoc on the ships caught in its deadly path. The SS Pendleton, an oil tanker bound for Boston, is ripped in half, trapping more than 30 sailors inside its rapidly-sinking stern. As word of the disaster reaches the U.S. Coast Guard station in Chatham, Massachusetts, Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff orders a daring operation to rescue the stranded men. Despite overwhelming odds, four men, led by Coast Guard Captain Bernie Webber, set out in a wooden lifeboat with an ill-equipped engine and little, if any, means of navigation, facing frigid temperatures, 60-foot high waves and hurricane-force winds.